Coup De Grace
by yes.no16
Summary: Robotnik is on the way out. He had always thought he would get rid of Sonic before he died. Now, he can finally make that a reality. Sonic might be able to fight mindless robots with ease...but what about his own friends? SonAmy, R&R. Rated M for language and adult themes.
1. Returned

Chapter One

In an abandoned laboratory in a distant corner of the world, an old man worked tirelessly. There were bags under his eyes, and his white mustache drooped. "Sonic..." He said to nobody in particular, a sinister tone in his voice. "It's not much longer now, my friend. If I'm going out...I'm going out with a bang." He stepped back and admired the machine he had spent the last three days building. "And I know just how to do it..."

* * *

"Come on, Sonic! Where are we going?!" Amy Rose wondered aloud as she followed behind Sonic, the wind blowing through her quills, struggling to keep up with the blue hedgehog in front of her. "And could you slow down just a little bit?!" Sonic just looked behind him and smiled. "Maybe you should learn to run a bit faster, Ames! Besides, we're already here!" He said, before skidding to a sudden stop. Amy wasn't so lucky, though, and she slammed right into the back of Sonic, knocking him to the ground face first. "Oh, god, Sonic, I am so sorry!" She said, quickly scrambling to help him up. "Wow, Ames," Sonic dusted himself off. "If you wanted to come from behind you should've just said something." He joked, and then looked over to Amy, who had her arms crossed and was shooting him a stern look. "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean? You're the one who decided to stop suddenly without warning me first!" Sonic walked over to her and forcibly put her arms down at her sides. "You need to calm down, Ames. If you don't, then I'm not gonna show you the whole reason I brought you all the way out here and we can just both go home. Now, close your eyes. I gotta go get it. It's right over here." Sonic said. Amy complied. After all, this was the first time the two had been alone together in a while. What could he possibly have to show her? Maybe it was a wedding ring, or a well-written confession of his love, or…

WHOOSH.

Of course. Of course it was all just a ruse to get her away from him. He had been doing the same thing for years, why would she expect anything different now? "I knew he wasn't mature enough." She lamented, taking a seat on a nearby log. She had started off her little escapade with Sonic expecting to finally get the guy of her dreams. Instead, she ended up feeling that all too familiar sting. The sting of rejection. Why did she even bother? Why hold on to this childlike adoration for him? It was always the same. Wake up in the morning with some new way to win over Sonic's heart, only to have her dream be crushed almost as soon as they next meet. A pitiful existence, to be sure-one Sonic would have felt sorry for, were he himself not the one causing the problem. A small glimmer of hope appeared in the back of her mind. What if he doesn't know the pain he's causing her? This hope was almost immediately extinguished, however. He knew exactly what he was doing. If Amy didn't know any better, she might even think he enjoyed it.

* * *

"Wow, you're kind of an asshole, dude." Tails said as Sonic explained where he had gone with Amy. "What? It was only a joke. It's not like I lead her to the middle of a warzone or something. Nobody got hurt. Just an innocent little prank, that's all it was." Sonic folded his arms and leaned on a nearby wall. "Sonic, every day you break that poor girl's heart, and every day you keep saying that 'it was just a joke' or 'I didn't mean to' instead of apologizing like you should. I have seen her walking into her house crying sometimes, Sonic." Tails scolded, his brow furrowed. "Tails? Not my fault. We're just friends. She knows that." Tails sighed, walked over to Sonic, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's what you may think, Sonic. But she doesn't feel the same." Then, he packed up his tools and walked to the door. "Anyways, I've gotta go. Some guy just called in that needs help with a broken down engine. See ya tomorrow, Sonic." He left, making sure to slam the door as loud as he could, almost as if showing his disapproval of Sonic's actions that day. Sonic sighed, and followed his friend's footsteps, making sure to turn off the workshop light before he left.

* * *

"Maybe Tails is right. Maybe I am too much of a jerk to her." Sonic pondered on his way home. He wasn't running, as he normally was. Instead, he was walking, as slowly as he could. More time to think that way. As he was passing by a television store, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. It was a man, bald head and white moustache, egg shaped, seemingly having hijacked the television network. "Robotnik? No…impossible. He's died of old age by now, surely. It's been 10 years since I've seen him. It's not like him to just leave me alone for this long." But the more he listened, the more he realized that this was, in fact, Dr. Robotnik. "If you're listening, Sonic, then know that I am not dead. I have spent the last 5 years conceptualizing, building, destroying, conceptualizing again and rebuilding. All for a machine to destroy you, my friend. And the time is nigh. Soon, you-and all of your friends- will be nothing but memories." Sonic looked over to see an object falling from the sky in the distance. He couldn't see much of it, but it was clearly box shaped, and had been dropped from what looked like a smaller-scale, much less conspicuous version of Robotnik's airship.

And it was falling right towards the hill where he left Amy.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note:_**

 _Hey, guys! This is the first fanfiction that I've ever written. I used to write short (like 1-2 page) stories, but I've never actually used characters from a pre-established canon before. Still, I've been a Sonic fan for forever, so hopefully I can at least get these characters somewhat right? Also, yes, this story takes place 10 years after Lost World (or whatever your timeline places as the final Sonic game) and as such, the characters are all 10 years older. Is Robotnik old enough in the actual series to where 10 years would make him an old man? Who knows? And more importantly, who cares? Anyway, read and review. Don't be too harsh, please, but also don't go super easy on me. Tell me what I did wrong and how I can improve! Also, I absolutely CANNOT promise that this story will receive updates on a regular basis. I'll try my best to update semi-frequently, but for the most part I only write when I get inspiration. No inspiration, no writing. So yeah. Until next time!_


	2. Fangirl

Chapter Two

Amy tenderly wiped her still red eyes. How long had it been? Sonic had left about 15 minutes ago, and she swore she didn't remember crying just a few minutes before. Of course, maybe that was because she had been thinking so hard about not crying for the past 10 minutes that she completely forgot to actually put that thought into practice. Nobody would really be able to blame the poor girl, really. Not even Sonic, who seemed so oblivious to what he was doing to her that he himself would ask her what was wrong. She loved that about him. He was always so concerned about what was going on, not just with his friend but with random strangers as well. Of course, when it came to Amy, her answer just seemed to go in one ear and out the other. She looked around, hoping to see a sign that maybe, just maybe, her blue hero had come to apologize with a bundle of flowers like he always used to. Nope. He never apologized anymore, not since Robotnik disappeared.

"Fine, Sonic," She said to herself. "I see how it is. Did I do something to you? Am I too clingy? Please, Sonic, tell me so that I can change." She looked around, almost as if expecting an answer, but of course received nothing. Who was she kidding? Even if he was here, she still wouldn't receive an answer. She stood up, then looked over to the horizon one final time, as if wanting to confirm her fears. This time, however, she saw that familiar sight. That same blue streak that had always rushed to her rescue whenever she was in trouble. The same one that she fell in love with all those years ago.

Sonic.

"Well, Sonic, I knew you couldn't stay away." She smiled, then looked down at her feet and noticed a slowly growing shadow below her. "What…?" Sonic grabbed her and pulled her out of the way just before the object slammed down onto the ground.

"Goddamn, Ames," Sonic said, helping Amy off the ground. "You need to pay more attention. You could've died just now. Are you hurt?" Amy shook her head. "Alright, good. You had me worried for a second there, Ames." Sonic and Amy turned their attention to the rectangular box that had landed in front of them.

"What is it?" Amy asked, running her hand along the back of it to remove all the dirt and grass that had covered it as it landed. "Robotnik…?" She had uncovered the insignia that was signature of Robotnik, that face that he plastered onto all of his creations for no particular reason. "Sonic, isn't he dead?"

"No. I thought so, too, but I just saw him on TV a couple of minutes ago. He said something about spending the last five years working, and then he threatened me. But not just me, Ames. You, Tails, Knuckles, we're all in danger." Amy looked over at him with her emerald green eyes, then looked back over to the object in front of them. "I don't know what this box thingy is for, though. It's not just meant for crushing us to death, because that's too simple and easy for Robotnik. You know how he is, always coming up with the most convoluted plans possible." He walked around to the front of the device and began to inspect it closer, keeping Amy a good distance behind him as he did so. It was a rectangular box made of steel, about five or six feet tall, with a single glass door on the front. Below the door, the letters 'S.F.M.' were written, and on the left side of the box was a pair of tubes. The larger one led to what looked like a fuel tank on the back, while the smaller one led inside of the box itself. Most worryingly, however, was the fact that a sweet odor seemed to be emanating from the box. So sweet, in fact, that if he had just an ounce less of self-control he would have opened up the door and climbed inside. "Well, Ames, whatever it is, it's definitely not good." He looked over to Amy, whose pupils had dilated. She didn't seem to be noticing anything that Sonic was saying, and her hand was outstretched and reaching for the door handle. "Ames? Ames, stop it!" When his warnings didn't prove enough to stop her, he slapped her hand away from the handle.

"Wha-what? Sonic, what happened?" She asked, her pupils returning to normal size. Sonic shrugged.

"I don't know, Ames. You started reaching for the handle and wouldn't stop even when I warned you." Sonic folded his arms. "Whatever this thing is, it's definitely different than anything he's used on us before. I'm worried, Ames."

Wow, that was a first. Sonic actually admitting to being worried, and to Amy of all people. A younger, less experienced Amy might have believed that it was because she was in danger. This wasn't true, of course. That was the Sonic way, to worry whenever somebody was in danger no matter who they may be. And he would never harm a soul, not even Robotnik. Nor would he ever wish harm upon anybody, especially not on Robotnik. Were they enemies? Absolutely. Was Robotnik so much of a threat that he needed to die before he killed more people? Definitely not. Robotnik wasn't doing it because he wanted to create an empire anymore, he was doing it to get rid of Sonic. It was a bit like Sonic's rivalry with Knuckles when they first met, except with more emphasis on the rival part and less on the friendly part.

"Me too, Sonic." Those were the only words Amy was able to speak. _Me too? God, what the hell are you doing, Amy? You could have said anything. Tell him we're going to figure it out, say he doesn't need to worry about you, fucking anything but 'Me too.' No wonder you haven't been able to win him over, you absolutely screw up the few chances that he does give you to get closer to him._ She picked her hammer up off of the ground where she had left it. "Still, we can't sit here forever. We should take this back to the workshop, have Tails take a look at it. Whatever it was that was causing me to want to get in, I've never seen it before. If anyone knows what this is, it's him." She smiled at Sonic, though it was the absolute biggest and fakest looking smile she possibly could've done. Her cheeks were so far up her face, she felt they might jostle the quills on her head and completely nullify the hour she had spent styling this morning.

"…Uh-huh. You have a point. Figuring out what this thing is would probably be our best first move." He nodded, and then took hold of the box at the same time as Amy. For a second, as they moved into position, their hands touched. _Ugh, how cliché could you get? The awkward girl going for the guy that thinks they're just friends, the whole 'hands touch' thing and OHMYGOD OHMYGOD THAT'S HIS HAND HOLY SHIT WE TOUCHED HANDS._ Amy took a deep breath. _Goddamnit, Amy. I thought you were done with this phase, but no, every time you manage to completely disappoint me and nullify the years I have spent trying to have a normal relationship with this guy._

 _I'm fangirling again._

* * *

 ** _Author's Note:  
_**

 _So, here it is. Chapter Two, for your reading pleasure. I apologize for the wait, I've actually had this finished for a while but I haven't had access to the internet for the past couple days and as such haven't been able to post it. I'll try to get Chapter Three out a bit sooner to make up for it, but of course that's no substitute for quality. So, if it comes down to posting Chapter Three early and having it be shit or needing to wait a couple extra days to make it as good as I can, I will always take the latter option. See you guys next time!  
_


	3. Senseless

Chapter Three

"Well, here we are." The pair of hedgehogs dropped the box on the table in the center of the workshop. "I've already called Tails. Try not to break anything, alright?" Sonic took a seat in the corner, and then picked up what looked like a weapon and started examining it. It looked like some kind of attachable arm cannon; the main body of the device was colored orange, while the barrel was a deep red. Near the barrel, two prongs were jutting from the side, and a wire connected to the battery lead to said prongs from near the base of the gun. "I don't know why Tails is still making these weapons," Sonic said, putting the gun back down on the table. "There's not even anybody to use them on anymore."

"Who knows? Maybe he's gotten bored with just milling around town repairing whatever needs to be repaired." Amy shrugged, setting her hammer down on a nearby table. She felt safe here; while Sonic was around, nothing bad could ever happen. Not to her, not to Sonic, not to anybody. After all, Robotnik had never won before. Just because he had started targeting the entire crew instead of one specific person didn't mean he was going to fare any better this time. "Do you really think Tails is going to be able to figure this thing out, though? I mean, it's certainly not like anything we've ever seen before." She suggested, a hint of despair in her voice. Sonic turned around and looked at her with that trademark smirk of his.

"Ames, of course he can. He's Tails." Just at this moment, the two tailed fox himself opened the door and stepped into the room, setting his toolbox on the counter as he did.

"Well, glad to hear that you have so much faith in me, Sonic." He said, stepping over to the box and beginning to examine it. "Of course, I'm not perfect, y'know. I can't promise that I'll be able to figure this out." He had begun to pull the box off the table and onto the floor, but he seemed to have trouble getting it upright, so the two hedgehogs got out from their seats and assisted him in this task. "Well, it's certainly…heavy. Goddamn, how did you two manage to even carry it all the way out here?" He began to run his hands all over the box, checking it for screws, bolts, nuts, anything that he could remove to get inside and see what made it tick. He found nothing, nothing except for the screws holding the fuel tank to the back. "Well, that's interesting," he said, turning to Sonic. "There are no screws or anything on this thing, meaning that it was all one big piece that was assembled together. Whatever it does, the mechanisms for it are all on the outside. You guys look at that fuel tank yet?" He asked, pointing at the fuel tank on the back of the object. Sonic shook his head.

"It's spitting out…something. I don't have any idea what it is, but it almost made Ames open the door and climb inside. If I weren't there, she might be gone by now." Tails had taken out his screw driver and begun to remove the fuel tank. Once it was off, he took it over to his computer.

"This baby's gotten some upgrades since we last used it, Sonic. For example, I can do this." He pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, and then a large claw dropped down from the ceiling. He put the fuel tank in the claw, and then it quickly zipped up and out of sight. "Now, with a few quick inputs, I can analyze whatever is inside this container in a flash." His fingers glided over the keyboard with the adeptness of a professional, and within a second the computer had begun to analyze the sample it had been given.

"ERROR. NO MATCH FOUND. PLEASE TRY AGAIN." A computerized voice said after a few seconds. Tails scratched his head, then pressed a few more buttons on the keyboard to try analyzing it again. "ERROR. NO MATCH FOUND. PLEASE TRY AGAIN." Tails slumped back in his chair, hand on his muzzle, thinking. And he thought for a good long while; it was about 5-10 minutes before he spoke again. Then, he stood up and shrugged. "Well, we're fucked." He walked over to his toolbox and began sifting through it, presumably looking for something, ANYTHING, that he could use to figure out what the odor emanating from the box was.

"So that's it, then? You're just giving up?" Amy got up out of her chair. How could Tails say that? They couldn't just give up before they had even begun the fight, not now, not while Sonic was still around. After all, to give up was to let Robotnik win; if there was nobody to fight him, he would be free to take them all out one by one while nobody dared defy him. She'll show Tails to just give up like that, what happens when you dare to let Sonic down. She stomped over to Tails, grabbed him by the shoulder, whipped him around, and delivered a hard slap right across his face.

"Ow! Goddamnit, Amy, what was that for?!" Tails gingerly rubbed the red hand shaped mark that had been left on his cheek. "I'm not giving up at all! What did you think I was looking through the toolbox for?!"

 _...Oh. Yeah, that…that would make sense. I don't know WHY I thought he was giving up. Maybe it was the fact that he said 'We're fucked' BEFORE he had actually exhausted all his options._

"Well, maybe next time don't have such a poor choice of words." She smiled, then strolled back over to her chair and sat down. Tails stared at her, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Bu-you just…what…why did you…HUH?!" He scratched his head. "Well, now that…THAT'S happened, let's see if going inside of the box itself will yield any different results." He wandered over to the box, wrench in hand, and began to reach for the door.

"Uh, Tails, I wouldn't go in there," Sonic warned. "We don't know what that thing actually does yet." Tails scoffed.

"Oh please, Sonic. I'm a professional. These things don't happen to me." This wasn't like Tails. Normally, he was much more cautious and careful when it came to stuff he didn't know that much about. He opened the door, climbed inside, closed the door…and then paused. He was completely still, almost as if a statue had been put inside instead of Tails himself. After a minute or so passed, he turned around, got out, and walked right past both Sonic and Amy without saying a word. Instead, he was headed for the gun that Sonic had inspected earlier. He picked it up and attached it to his arm, then aimed it right at Amy and began to charge up a shot.

"Whoa, Tails, what the hell are you doing?!" Sonic got between the gun and Amy. "Stop kidding around and try to figure this thing out!" Tails looked at him with a blank stare.

"Sonic, you get out from in front of Robotnik right now or I'll have to blow you away, too." He said coldly, before continuing to charge the blast.

"Wha-?! Robotnik? Tails, this is Amy, not Robotnik! Robotnik is nowhere to be seen!" Sonic said, getting ready to charge at Tails on a moment's notice.

"Only Robotnik would attack me like this." He pointed at the slap mark on his face. "Now, one last warning." Sonic tilted his head to the side, but then in an instant he ran at Tails. Tails tried to fight him off, whacking him with the gun a couple times, but Sonic retaliated with a few punches to the jaw. There was a great struggle, with the two rolling and flopping all over the workshop while each one tried to get the advantage. Tails tried to get off a good shot on Sonic, but such a task was impossible with such close proximity to each other. Sonic punched Tails in the side of the head, and Tails fell to the ground. After a few seconds, though, he got back up and uppercut Sonic in the chin. Sonic had enough, grabbing Tails and dragging him over to the table, where he slammed his head down as hard as he could without killing him.

"Ugh…what the hell happened?" Tails sat up and rubbed his head, looking around at all the damage that had been done to the workshop. It was a mess; tables were flipped, chairs were broken, walls and floors had bloodstains smeared on them.

"You tried to kill Amy," Sonic said bluntly, his arms crossed. "And when I got in your way you threatened to kill me, too." He grabbed Tails by the hand and helped him up, then gave him an icepack to put on his head.

"I-I what?" He looked down at his right arm; sure enough, there it was, the gun he had created for use in emergencies. He didn't remember putting it on his arm, that much was for sure. Nor did he remember trying to kill Amy or Sonic. Last thing he remembered, he was opening up the box and getting inside of it. He looked over at the box, which had been completely wrapped in tape, presumably so that nobody could get inside of it for a while.

"Uh, look," Sonic said. "Maybe it's best if you just take a break for a while. We'll leave the box here, so you can just continue checking it out whenever you feel ready." He walked over to the workshop door and pulled it open. "Just make sure that…whatever that was doesn't happen again. I don't wanna have to do that again, Tails." Amy followed Sonic out the door, and then they closed it as slowly and calmly as they could. After all, Tails probably had a horrible headache from his scuffle with Sonic, no need to make the poor guy's pain even worse than it already was.

* * *

You wouldn't know what had just happened inside the workshop if you were standing around outside. After all, it was sunny out, the birds were singing, there was just enough of a breeze for it to blow through your fur without chilling you to the bone. It was the ideal summer day, one that Amy thought she could take advantage of. She lived quite a ways away, about two or three miles, and with the memory of what happened in the workshop fresh in Sonic's mind there was no way that he could think it was safe for her. After all, he had almost been killed by his best friend, what was to stop the same thing from happening to Amy? "Sonic," She said, pulling Sonic aside and stopping on the side of the road. "Could you…could you walk me home tonight? I don't think I feel safe walking out here all alone after what just happened, even if it is the middle of the day." Sonic looked at her and chuckled.

"Come on, Ames. You're a big girl now. You can take care of yourself. Besides, you've got your hammer, and nobody knows better than me how much that thing hurts." Amy stuck out her bottom lip and enlarged her eyes as much as she could. Sonic never could say no to this-whenever she did it, he would instantly change his mind and do whatever it was she was asking him. _Maybe it's because I'm just too damn cute for anybody to say no to,_ she thought to herself one day after getting Sonic to go to the movies with her. _Yeah, that's definitely it._ Of course, when the request in question was "Please go out with me, Sonic," then it didn't matter how much she did the face, as Sonic would never, ever budge in his answer.

"Oh, god, you're doing the face again. No, stop, it's not going to work this time. It's not gonna work!" He turned around to try to look away, but whenever he looked back he still saw Amy standing there, puppy-dog eyes on full force. "Goddamnit, Amy, stop!" When he saw what looked like tears start to form in Amy's eyes, he finally turned around to look her straight in the eye. "Fine, fine, fine! I'll walk you home. I keep telling you to stop that, Ames. You know how I feel about it."

Amy nodded. "That's exactly why I keep doing it, silly. Because it works every time."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _I'm not happy with this chapter. At all. I know I said last time that I would rather take a little while longer to update than release a subpar chapter, but I really couldn't think of another way to get across the plot points detailed in this chapter without going either into full exposition mode or absolutely nonsense science mode. It's not that it's a bad chapter, it's that I personally feel like it's not up to the standard of quality of the previous two. Still, hope you enjoy!_


	4. Over Him

Chapter Four

"Thanks for agreeing to do this, Sonic." Amy smiled as she looked over at Sonic.

"Don't mention it, Ames. I mostly just did it because you used that face on me. I don't know why, I just can't say no to it." Sonic smirked. "But, y'know, this is actually kinda nice. I've never actually taken the time to enjoy a day like today. When you run everywhere at top speed you kinda miss out on the little things." He felt Amy gently take his hand. "Uh, Ames, what are you doing? We agreed that this wasn't part of the deal."

"Sonic, don't worry. I just feel safer this way. Besides, there's nobody around to see us." She giggled. "And do I really disgust you that much that you won't even hold my hand for a while? I'm hurt that you feel that way, Sonic."

"No, Ames, it's not that at all. But someone could easily come within view of us, and then what? They'd get the wrong idea and a rumor starts spreading! And if Tails or Cream get wind of that rumor? Man, we'd never hear the end of it! So just, uh, let go before that happens." He tried to remove his hand from Amy's grasp, only for her to tighten her grip instead.

"Come on, Sonic. They'd just be rumors. What's the problem? It's not like it would matter. Everyone knows we'd never be a couple, anyway." She said, that final sentence burning her lips as she said it. She knew it was true, Sonic knew it was true, everyone knew it was true, but still she hated to say it out loud. Convincing herself that there was still hope was hard enough without herself saying that they would never be a couple.

Sonic shrugged. "Well, I guess, but don't you think th-" Amy placed a finger on his lips before he could finish the sentence.

"Sonic. Just hold my hand, alright? I'll even let go if anyone comes by, okay? How are you ever gonna get a girlfriend if you can't even hold one of your closest friend's hands comfortably for more than a few seconds?" She smiled, and then put her hand back down at her side. That was the last that was said on that issue. They walked in silence for a good long moment, one that Amy was treasuring with all of her heart. She had never gotten Sonic to willingly hold her hand before, and it was well worth it just for this one moment, even if she needed to damn her own fantasies to the realm of the impossible in order to do so.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, Ames," Sonic finally said, breaking the silence. "This isn't so bad." Sonic was never one for relationships; the very thought of being tied down like that was one that he did NOT want to entertain anytime soon. Amy was right, though. Sooner or later, he would get tired of the free roaming lifestyle and want to settle down with somebody. The issue would be finding someone that was willing to put up with him. After all, even WHEN he finally decided to have a relationship with someone, that still didn't mean that he was going to be around all the time. And his cocky attitude wasn't something that many people would be able to handle.

 _Yeah, this is kinda nice,_ he thought to himself. He never expected that the first hand he'd hold would be Amy's, but as far as first times go he could certainly do worse. Her grip was so subtle and gentle that he might forget that he was even holding her hand were it not for the comforting warm aura emanating from her hand. _What the hell…? Why am I thinking in such poetic terms about AMY of all people?! That is not okay. I need to stop this train of thought right now!_ No sooner did he finish this thought than they stopped right in front of Amy's house. Or, at least, Amy did. Sonic was too involved in his self-argument that he would've kept walking had Amy not pulled him back.

"Thanks again, Sonic," Amy let go of his hand and began to walking to the door. "I really appreciate it." She only took a few steps before turning around again and just…staring into Sonic's emerald green eyes. She was tempted to walk over to him and give him a quick peck on the cheek, or to take his hand again and just hold it for a while, or maybe even just give him a quick hug and then go inside. She decided against all three of these actions. The healing process had to start somewhere- and where better to start than just giving a totally normal goodbye to Sonic? Still, she found herself enthralled by his gaze. Why, she could've stood there forever, just staring into his eyes, wishing that having a relationship with him was-

"Ames? Are…are you alright? Shouldn't you be going inside instead of just…standing there like you're doing?" The sound of Sonic's voice was enough to snap Amy out of her trance. Her hands instantly shot up to cover her mouth, which had been hanging open like an idiot, and also her cheeks, which were glowing red and burning hot.

"S-Sonic! I…I was just…uh, that is…I gotta go, Sonic! See you tomorrow!" She quickly ran inside and closed the door, leaving Sonic standing outside.

"That…huh. Well, alright, Ames, if that's how you say goodbye to one of your best friends then I'm not gonna stop you." He shrugged his shoulder, then continued on towards his house.

* * *

Amy slumped against the door as she entered the comfort of her own home. "That was soooooo cute!" said a familiar voice from the living room, causing Amy to jump up in surprise.

"Cream?! What're you doing here?!" Amy wiped a bead of sweat from her brow before joining the rabbit by the window.

"I never left," said the rabbit innocently. "When you went out with Mister Sonic, that is. I was going to, but your bed is just so comfortable that I couldn't pull myself out of it until just a few minutes ago!"

Amy's eyes widened. "Wait…Cream, you went in my ROOM?! I told you that's the ONE place in here that you're not allowed to go!"

"Don't worry, Miss Amy! I didn't touch anything. All those pictures of Mister Sonic that you have are completely fine!" Cream's Chao companion had begun to climb its way up Amy's arm and onto her head, prompting a short giggle from the rabbit.

"Y-you saw the-?!" Cream nodded, a smile on her face.

"There are so many that it's kind of hard not to, Miss Amy. Could you imagine if I had I that many pictures of Tails in my room? There'd barely be any room to walk!" She giggled again, pulling Cheese out of Amy's hair before he completely ruined it.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Miss Amy. Everyone knows how much you love Mister Sonic. And you finally got him to hold your hand! It was only a matter of time. It took a while to get started, but you two were SOOOOO adorable there!" Amy sighed, then buried her face in her hands.

"Cream, we aren't a couple. We never were," she sighed again. "And we never will be."

Cream blinked, her head tilted slightly to the side, and then clasped her hands together in front of her. "Come on, Miss Amy! That's no way to think! Tails and I had a rough start, and look at where we are n-" Amy jumped from the couch and into a standing position, knocking over a table in the process.

"Don't you DARE try to give me relationship advice, Cream! Tails isn't like Sonic! Tails is sweet and innocent and genuine and he actually cares about you and Sonic DOESN'T! You don't know how it feels to wake up every day and have some prank or joke or WHATEVER played on you by your hero! You've never loved someone like I love Sonic, so don't even act like you know anything about what I'm going through!" She snarled, her voice raised. Who was Cream to try helping Amy with her problems? Tails and Cream were…they were happy. Tails never forgot her birthday, always got her exactly what she wanted for Christmas, went out to the movies with her whenever she wanted to even if the movie in question was one he had absolutely no interest in. They weren't a perfect couple by any means, but they were certainly better than Amy and Sonic would ever be. Cream's eyes widened, and she took a step back with her arms crossed.

"Sorry, Miss Amy. I was just trying to make you feel better. But if that's how you feel, then fine. I'll just leave." She turned and began to walk to the door, but Amy's voice quietly piped up before she could.

"No…wait. I was…I was actually going to go clear out some of those pictures from my room, and it's gonna take a while if it's just me. Maybe…maybe you could help?" She smiled weakly, her voice slowly quieting as she got closer to the end of the sentence.

"You…you're getting rid of them? But…I thought Mister Sonic was…" Amy shook her head.

"Not anymore, no. I'm over him now. C'mon, those pictures aren't gonna get rid of themselves."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Not much to do with the Robotnik plot this time. Mostly just some of the final setup for the SonAmy relationship, which I promise will be starting soon. Also, I really suck at writing Cream. But that's alright, because she has plenty more appearances down the line and it can only get better from here. If you guys enjoy the story so far (or even if you don't) please remember to leave reviews telling me what I'm doing wrong. There's only so much that a writer can improve without feedback from the people reading their stories. I intend next chapter to have much more to do with Robotnik, so if you didn't enjoy this chapter please stay tuned next time!_


	5. Prisoner

Chapter Five

Tails sighed, his head propped up by his hand, as he looked at the object sitting in the middle of the floor. "What are you," he asked, standing up and walking over to it. "And why did you make me attack Amy?" He grabbed a knife from the nearby table and began to cut the tape that had been wrapped around the box. Once it had all been completely removed, he set the knife down. "Tell me all of your secrets, box!" He exclaimed, pointing a single finger at it. "…Wow. What the fuck am I doing? All that time watching Haruhi Suzumiya with Cream must be rubbing off on me. I need to get her to stop, before this escalates any further." He cleared his throat, then began to reach for the door handle again. Was this a good idea? After all, when he had gone to step in it before he had gone mad and tried to kill Amy. Then again, nobody was around right now. The worst that could happen is he walks in, goes insane, and then beats the crap out of a wall or something. Still, he couldn't help but feel uneasy about the whole thing, as if something horrible was going to happen nonetheless. What reason did he have to get inside again, anyway? It's not like he was going to find out anything useful from it. He could clearly see through the door that there was nothing worth looking at inside. Despite this fact, he felt strangely compelled to open the door and climb inside, just as Amy had been when this thing was first discovered. He tried all he could to fight the urge, but still he opened the door and climbed inside.

* * *

"Thanks for all the help, Cream." Amy tied a knot in the trashbag full of pictures of Sonic and slung it over her shoulder.

"No problem, Miss Amy! It was kinda fun, actually, just sitting and talking as we got rid of those. Anyways, I'm going over to Tails'. See you later, Miss Amy!" The rabbit closed the door behind her as she left the house of her friend. Amy sighed and looked longingly at Sonic's house in the distance.

"Why can't I be like her?"

* * *

"Tails? Tails, are you here?" Cream looked around the room for any sign of her lover, before noticing him inside of the box in the middle of the room. He was slumped against the back with dilated pupils, blank look on his face, mouth hanging open as if he was completely braindead. "Oh my god, Tails! What happened?!" She ran over to the box and tried to pry the door open. No luck. Maybe it was the fact that, compared to everyone else, she was quite weak physically, or maybe the door really was stuck. Either way, she needed to get Tails out of there, and fast. She quickly grabbed a stool, and with all of her strength, she swung it against the door.

Nothing.

She tried and tried, again and again, but not once did she even make a crack in the glass. Not a visible one, anyway, because when she took a final, stronger swing at the door, it shattered into a million pieces. As she pulled Tails out of the box, she swore she caught a whiff of SOME kind of odor that she had never smelled before, but it didn't matter. Tails was alright.

"Ugh..." Tails rubbed his head as Cream knelt down in front of him.

"What happened, Tails?" She cooed, her voice nearly silent. What had happened in the time that Tails was stuck in there? What would've happened if she hadn't gotten him free? Thinking about any of these questions was something that she didn't want to do. Still, she needed some kind of answer, if only to know whether or not any permanent damage had been done.

"I...I'm not exactly sure, Cream. When I got inside, the door just...closed. I tried to get it open again, but then the gas started to come in..." Cream took his hand.

"What gas, Tails?"

"I don't know. It made me start thinking about...well, about killing Sonic." Cream's eyes widened.

"Killing Mr. Sonic? But aren't you two best friends? Why would you ever-" Tails shook his head.

"Not out of hatred, Cream. Out of...I guess lust is the correct word. Imagine how Amy must feel about Sonic every day, and now multiply that many times to the point where she's a rabid, mentally insane fangirl with nothing left to live for. A bit like 'if I can't have you, nobody can.' That was basically what it felt like." Cream giggled.

"Well geez, Tails. If you feel that way about him you should've just told me. I'll back off and find somebody else." She joked.

"You know what I meant, Cream, and this is serious. We need to figure out what this thing does, and fast." He said, standing himself up. "Come on, Cream, you're gonna help me." He started sifting through his toolbox.

* * *

Was she really doing this? There was absolutely no way that she was over Sonic...was there? The guy she had been chasing after every day for as long as she could remember, and she was gonna end it just like that? Yes, she needed to. This was the first step towards...something. Growing up? Moving on? She didn't actually know, yet. But she still knew that this needed to happen if she was ever gonna live a happy life. She stepped back inside her house and took one final look at the bag full of pictures that she had shoved unceremoniously into a trashcan. As she wandered over to her couch to plop herself down and clear her mind, she began to smell THAT again. That same smell that had been drawing her in when they first discovered that object up on the hill. But this time, she was starting to feel different, almost as if a bloodlust was building inside of her. Not just any bloodlust, though. A lust for one person's blood in particular. The one who had tormented her for so long, made her life a living hell for as long as she had known him. She grabbed her hammer and stepped outside, not even bothering to close the door as she walked towards the house of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic opened the door to enter his house when he noticed a pink figure off to the side, just standing there, hammer in hand. "Hey there, Ames. What's up?" No response. She remained motionless, just staring at Sonic. "Um...okay, then. I'll just be...going inside, now." He quickly stepped inside and locked the door. "What the hell was that?" He took a look out his window to see if Amy was still there. Instead, he received a hammer directly to head, smashing the window and sending Sonic sprawling to the floor.

* * *

"Ugh...where the hell am I?" He slowly sat up, looking around to see if he could figure out where he was. He definitely wasn't at home anymore, judging by the stone walls, floor, and bars surrounding him. "Tails? Knuckles? Ames? Is anyone here?" A quiet, weak voice piped up from somewhere to the right of him.

"Over here, Sonic..." Sonic looked over at the corner and saw Amy slowly standing up, her knees shaking. She started to fall over at one point, and needed to use the wall to keep herself upright. "Sonic, I...I'm sorry. I don't know what happened..." She tried walking over to him, but instead stumbled and fell to her knees. "Please don't be mad, Sonic. I couldn't control myself..." She turned away from him and covered her face with her hands. Then, she began to quietly sob as Sonic walked over and knelt down next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"What are you talking about, Ames? And where are we?" He asked, prompting Amy to look up at him with a frown on her face.

"We're in Robotnik's lair, Sonic. Back when we were at your house, after I knocked you out with that attack...I don't know how I knew where this was or why, but I couldn't control myself and ended up taking you here. When I regained control, I was trapped in here with you." She whimpered, looking down at the ground and wiping her eyes.

"Well, that is kind of a problem," Sonic said. "But I'm Sonic the Hedgehog! We'll figure out a way outta here in no time!" He put on that trademark smirk of his, causing Amy's mouth to start creeping up into what could be considered a smile. Even after one of his friends had to kill him-multiple times- and even when they were trapped in the lair of their mortal enemy with no easy way out, Sonic would remain Sonic. That would never change. "So quit crying, Ames! I'll get us out of this, I promise." Amy looked up at him and nodded, her lips turning into a full on smile.

"Okay," she said, wiping her eyes again and standing up. "So what's the plan, then?" Sonic looked at her and blinked.

"Uh…well, I haven't actually thought that far ahead yet, Ames."

Amy sighed. "Goddamnit, Sonic."


	6. I'm Sorry

Chapter Six

"So you have no plan, then." Amy crossed her arms and frowned as Sonic examined the cell they were in.

"For the last time, that's not what I said, Ames. I just said I hadn't thought that far ahead yet." He curled up into a ball and tried to smash through the bars, only to hit his head and fall backwards onto the floor.

"My god, if it didn't work the last fourteen times then why would it work now? You've been trying the exact same thing over and over for the last fifteen minutes." Sonic turned around and walked over to her.

"Look," he said, sitting down next to her on the bed. "Do you have a better plan for getting us outta here? All you've been doing is sitting here pouting about how bad MY plan-" Amy nudged him on the shoulder. "…okay, fine, how bad my lack of a plan is, but you haven't put forth a single alternative of your own." Amy glared at him.

"Well, it's not like we're gonna be getting out of here on our own. We've looked all over the place. There's nothing. The only way out is through that cell door, and the key to that is probably somewhere we will never get it." She shrugged. "So no, Sonic, I do not have an alternative, and judging from the fact that we're STILL here, I'm gonna say you don't, either." She jumped off the bed and walked over to lean on the wall.

"At least I'm trying, Ames! If you wanna get out of here so bad, why don't you get over here and help me, hmm?" He scowled.

"Well, that's because YOU'RE Sonic the Hedgehog. You're gonna get us outta here, remember?" She teased, a small smirk appearing on her face. "To be honest, though, it's because…because I kinda wanna…um…" She closed her eyes. "Because I don't wanna leave." Sonic looked at her and blinked, tilting his head to the side slightly. He opened his mouth to try and say something, but Amy quickly interrupted him. "I know how it sounds, but…I can explain. I don't wanna leave because…because I wanna spend time with you, Sonic." She said quietly.

"Oh, that's all? Come on, Ames, you know where I live. You can come over and hang out anytime." Sonic said.

"No, Sonic. Not like that." She paused. "…Sonic, I…I still love you. And nothing you do will ever change that. Every time I see you, I just…I just want you to feel the same way about me. But you never do…Instead you pull those stupid pranks on me every day and never apologize." Tears began to form in her eyes. "I just want to be happy, Sonic… I just want to hear you say sorry, even just once…" She sobbed, burying her face in her hands. She walked over to the bed and sat down on it. Sonic stared at her for a few seconds before sighing.

"Ames…Ames, I'm sorry." He said, kneeling down on the floor in front of her. "I am so, so sorry. If I had known you felt that way…I never would've kept pulling those pranks on you. I can't take back all those years that I made you miserable, but…I CAN promise to never prank you again." Amy looked up at him and wiped her tears.

"S-Sonic…thank you…" She wrapped her arms around him. "All those years, it…I just felt like you didn't care…" She tightened her embrace of Sonic.

"Um…alright, Ames, that's enough. I never said that hugs were okay." He pulled Amy off of him, smiling at her as she regained her composure. "So c'mon, Ames. Let's get outta here."

* * *

"Tails…w-where could they have gone?" Cream was apprehensive as Tails examined the house for clues.

"Well, Cream, there's only one thing that really could have happened to them. I mean, they aren't the kind to disappear without telling anyone where they're going. It's pretty clear that Robotnik has them." Tails said, standing up from his kneeling position. "The only question is where he's keeping them."

"What are we gonna do?" Cream asked, wrapping her arms around Tails to try to comfort herself. "If they don't get out of there, he's…he's gonna kill them." She whimpered, prompting Tails to stroke her head lovingly.

"There's not much we CAN do, Cream. But they're gonna be alright. Sonic has been in situations like this before. He'll get them out of there, no problem." He lightly kissed Cream on the top of the head. "Besides, you really think that Sonic the Hedgehog can die?" He wiped away the tears that had been forming in Cream's eyes and smiled.

"But…but Tails-" Tails hushed Cream before she could finish her sentence.

"Cream…They're gonna be fine. I promise you. Would I lie to you?" He removed himself from Cream's embrace and instead took both of her hands in his. "And I already told you that there's nothing we can do at the moment. If we could, then believe me, we would be. But we can't. All we can do is sit here and wait. You just need to have faith in Sonic. He's been through worse situations before." He looked into Cream's eyes, and upon seeing a smile appear on her face, he smiled as well.

"There's the Cream I know."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Two things. First of all, I sincerely apologize for the rather long wait since the last chapter. I just didn't really feel motivated to write at all, and even as I sat here writing this chapter I still wasn't really motivated. This was mostly because, if I'm honest, I had no idea what to do with this chapter. As a result, this chapter is really, really short. Sorry! Next time, though, we'll be back to normal length chapters. Now that this chapter is out of the way I know exactly where to take the story from here, so come back next time!  
_


	7. Escape, Part One

Chapter 7

"Alright, Ames. We should almost be through." Sonic said, curling up into a ball. Amy nodded and did the same. "Alright, are you ready? One…two…three!" When Sonic reached three, they rolled into the bars together. They didn't expect to make it through on their first try; quite the opposite, in fact. So when they broke through immediately, they were unable to stop themselves and went hurtling straight into the wall.

"Ow," Amy rubbed her head. "A warning would've been nice."

Sonic grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. "You think I knew, Ames? I crashed into the wall just like you did. Believe me, I would've warned you if I knew." The two hedgehogs looked around at their surroundings. "Well, the only way out is that way," Sonic said, pointing towards the room at the end of the hall. "C'mon, let's go." He started to walk towards the room, but he felt Amy grab his arm and pull him back.

"Sonic," She looked down at the ground and blushed. "I'm scared. Could you...could you hold my hand?"

"Come the hell on, Ames! You're twenty two years old. You were never scared ten years ago! What the hell happened? Do you need me to walk you to the bathroom, too?" Then, he took her hand. "Just until we find your hammer, okay? And don't think this means anything. I just don't want to have a scared little girl following behind me through the enemy base."

Amy giggled. "Well, I guess it sucks that I'M the one you had to get stuck here with, huh?"

* * *

"Alright, Ames, there's your hammer." Sonic released his grip on Amy's hand and peeked around the corner. "Doesn't look like they're guarding it very well. I'll distract them, and you grab your hammer. Got it?" He looked back at Amy, who had furrowed her brow and clenched her fists.

"Of course, Sonic! They're gonna regret capturing us like this and-" Sonic clapped his hand over her mouth. "Whmt?! Smnmc, whmt's-"

"Shh! Be quiet, Ames!" Sonic grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into a nearby alcove. "There's someone coming." He kept his hand over Amy's mouth as they saw a familiar figure walking past. The red and yellow shoes, the red fur, the spiked fists, it was unmistakable. "What the fuck…?" Sonic took a step back, being careful not to be too loud. After a few seconds passed, they heard Knuckles say something indistinguishable in the other room. Then, they heard the shuffling of 3 pairs of feet, and after waiting a few moments to confirm they were alone, Sonic removed his hand from Amy's mouth.

"Sonic…why…why is K-Knuckles here?" Amy asked, her voice shaky. Sonic shook his head.

"You think I know, Ames? Trust me, if I did I would tell you." He peeked around the corner. "But, I do know that whatever the reason is, I don't like it." He took Amy's hand again. "Come on, let's-" Amy giggled.

"Just until we find my hammer, remember? It's right there. You don't have to hold my hand anymore. Unless you want to, of course." She giggled again.

Sonic blushed and immediately let go of her hand. "W-what? Of course I don't. Don't be stupid, Ames." He cleared his throat. "Let's just get your hammer and get outta here, alright? We'll figure everything out later."

* * *

"Shadow…are you sure?" Tails stroked Cream's head as she slept.

Shadow nodded. "I saw him take them inside. If we hurry, we should be able to rescue them before Robotnik executes them."

Tails' eyes widened. "Executes them? Shadow, I thought he was just gonna keep 'em prisoner?" Shadow sighed.

"Aren't you supposed to be smart? What the fuck else was he gonna do with them? Just keep them prisoner forever? Of course he's gonna execute them!" Shadow snapped. "And if we wanna rescue them before he does, we gotta leave now."

Tails lightly shook Cream and smiled slightly as her eyes fluttered open. "Cream? Come on, we've gotta go." Cream slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"W-where are we going, Tails? What's going on?" She stretched, and then rested her head on Tails' shoulder.

"Sonic and Amy are in danger, Cream. Robotnik is gonna execute them. We need to get to them and rescue them before he can." Cream gasped.

"W-what? Robotnik is gonna kill Mr. Sonic and Ms. Amy?" Tears began to form in her eyes, but Tails quickly wiped them away and kissed her on the cheek.

"No, he's not. He's gonna try. But we aren't gonna let him, are we? We are going to his base right now and getting them out of there. Come on." He grabbed her hand and helped her stand. "You gonna meet us there, Shadow?" He asked, turning towards the hedgehog standing beside them.

Shadow nodded. "Yeah. I've got a couple of things to do here first. Once I'm done with those, I'll be there." Tails and Cream nodded, then turned and left out the nearby door.

* * *

"Sonic…what if we can't find our way out?" Amy asked, twirling her hammer in her hands as she walked alongside the blue hedgehog.

"We're gonna find our way out, Ames. Trust me." Sonic said, his gaze remaining straight forward. Even though he was talking directly to Amy right beside him, he absolutely refused to even look in her general direction.

"S-Sonic…? Did I do something wrong? Can you please look at me when you're talking to me?" She stopped moving, placed her left hand on Sonic's right cheek, and turned his head to face her. "We've known each other for how long, and you can't even look me in the eyes when you're talking to me?" Sonic immediately turned away again and continued walking. "Don't worry about it, Ames. Just don't." Amy opened her mouth to start speaking, but before she could, Sonic shouted "Look out!" and tackled her to the ground, lasers barely flying over their heads. "Looks like we've got a place to use your hammer, huh, Ames?" Amy and Sonic scrambled to their feet, Amy readying her hammer in her hands.

* * *

 ** _Author's Note: Aaaaaand we're back. I sincerely, sincerely apologize for the massive wait time between last chapter and this one. I've had a lot of things going on recently, and I just haven't been in the mood for much of anything lately. But I'm over it now, and we should be back with regular updates now. If my writing has gotten worse because I haven't written anything in about 2 months, please let me know. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter even though it's about 2 months late._  
**


	8. Escape, Part Two

Chapter 8

"We're gonna have to fight our way out, Ames!" Sonic said, slowly backing against the wall as the army of robots in front of them advanced on the two hedgehogs. Amy twirled her hammer in her hands and smiled.

"I'm way ahead of you, Sonic!" She smashed a robot into the floor with her hammer. Sonic, meanwhile, curled up into a ball and smashed himself into several robots at speed, making them explode and clearing a path through the initial wave. He ran back over to Amy and grabbed her hand, and then they ran through the path that Sonic had cleared. When the next charge readied itself, he let go of Amy's hand. Amy readied her hammer, and then they gave each other a knowing smile. Sonic curled up into a ball, and Amy hit him with her hammer to send him flying through the air and smashing straight through several robots. Then, he uncurled and kicked off the wall, sending him flipping through the air. He then grabbed Amy's arms and threw her up into the air. As he did this, Amy wound her hammer up to smash down on whatever robots she landed on. She crashed down on top of a small group of robots, and then immediately jumped up and swung her hammer as hard as she could at the floor, causing a shockwave that knocked everything around her off their feet and down onto the ground. They all slowly got up, but then Amy swung her hammer into the side of one of the robots with enough force to knock it into all the robots to its left, destroying them. Sonic ran over, grabbed Amy's hand and leaped towards the exit of the room. They quickly left out of the door and slammed it shut behind them.

"Goddamn…" Amy said, putting her hammer down on the ground and sitting down to catch her breath. "How did we get out of there in one piece?"

"I don't know, you tell me." Sonic smiled. "You did most of the work there. I was just there so you had somebody to smash into things." He rubbed his head. "When did you get so strong, by the way? You wouldn't be able to do all that shit before today. I mean, making shockwaves on the ground and taking out whole lines of robots in one swing, that is."

Amy shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. Adrenaline, maybe? I didn't hurt you, did I?" She looked at Sonic.

"Nah, I'm fine. I've just got a bit of a headache, is all." He turged around and looked at the door that they had just gone through. "We should get going. Robotnik isn't gonna stop to take a break just because we did. We need to be long gone before he finds us." He said, looking around for a door leading out of Robotnik's base. "Come on. As long as we keep moving, he can't catch us." Amy began to stand up, before her ears suddenly perked up. She sat in silence for a while, and then placed one ear against the wall.

"Sonic, wait. Come here. I...I hear something." Sonic walked over next to Amy and also placed his ear on the wall. "Do you hear that, Sonic? It's like a weird whirring noise or something. What do you think it could be?" Sonic shook his head.

"I have no idea, Ames. But whatever it is, it's something to go off of. Come on, let's go check it out."

* * *

Shadow scoffed at the red echidna standing in front of him. "So, it was you. Aren't you supposed to be Sonic's friend? I guess, when you're as much of an idiot as you are, it doesn't really matter. Whatever. You saved me the trouble of having to find you myself." He smirked. "Chaos Con-" Before he could finish, the voice of Knuckles interrupted him, much louder and deeper than Knuckles' normal voice.

"Chaos Control!"

In an instant, everything slowed to a crawl. Everything, that is, except for Knuckles himself. The red echidna slowly strode over to the slow motion hedgehog in front of him, a crooked smile slowly appearing on his face. "Hehehe...not so tough now, are ya? I never was Sonic's friend, by the way. That..." He paused for a second, his eyes squeezed shut, his fists clenched. Then, he smacked himself in the head and opened his eyes, a burning resolve visible in them that wasn't there before. "That fucking idiot makes life a living hell for everyone around him! Have you seen the way he treats Amy?" He crossed his arms. "It's disgusting the way he treats her. Someone that treats his friends like that is not somebody I want to associate with." He turned around and began to speak into the communicator on his wrist. "Hello? Yes, sir. The target is secure, sir."

* * *

"Are you sure we're going the right way, Tails? We've been flying for 20 minutes and haven't seen anything yet." Cream asked, fidgeting back and forth in her seat. "I mean, we should have at least seen it by now, right?"

Tails looked back at the rabbit seated behind him with a frown on his face. "I'm flying in the exact direction that Shadow told us to, Cream. If we-" He cut himself off before looking down at the ground far below him. In the distance, he could see what looked like a massive red building. At least 15 turrets were dotting the outside of the structure, and the building itself was massive, sprawling at least 2 miles in the other direction and 7 stories up. Several chimneys were sticking out of the top of the building, each one emitting a sort of pink smoke, and the doors leading inside the structure were at least 20 feet tall. Tails turned back to Cream, this time with a wide smile. "I think we found it, Cream. All we need to do now…is find a way inside."

* * *

 **Author's Note: UGHHHHHHHHH so now we're back again. I know this happened before like 2 chapters ago, but this time I swear to you that this will be updating normally now. I've just had a bunch of stuff to do lately, between midterms and trying to shrink down some of my seemingly endless game backlog. Now that midterms are done, I'm going to have a BUNCH more time to actually write things. Also related: Longer chapters. From now on, expect longer updates every Sunday/Monday.**


	9. Poor Choices

Chapter 9

"You think you'll be able to fit in that hole up there, Cream?" Tails pointed up at a small hole in the wall, a hole small enough that Robotnik wouldn't particularly care yet big enough to maybe fit someone of Cream's size inside of it. Cream spun around and looked at the hole, then smiled and looked back at Tails, her eyes lighting up.

"Yeah, I think so! I know exactly where you're going with this, Tails. I'll be right back!" She started flapping her ears and flew up to the hole in the wall. When she was hovering beside it, she looked down at Tails and waved. "You wait out here, Tails! I'll find you a way in!" Then, she vanished inside of the hole.

On the other side of the hole, Cream landed on the floor on looked around. "Hmmm…all I gotta do is find a door or something for Tails…" She noticed a large panel over in the corner of the room, a wire leading from it and all around the room, looping over and under all kinds of machinery and eventually into the wall on the other side of the room. "That thing looks like it'll be useful." She walked over to it and stared at it, her head cocked to the side like a confused child. "Ummm…this button looks like it does something!" She pressed the largest button in the center, and then took a few stops backwards. "Please don't blow up!" She looked away and closed her eyes, before hearing a whirring sound on the other side of the room. "Oh. Well, alright then." She looked up and saw the wall slowly lift away before disappearing into the ceiling, revealing another, larger room on the other side. She slowly entered the new room, her head poking around the corners to make sure it was safe. She noticed a large door on the opposite wall, as well as yet another control panel in the center of the room. She walked over to the control panel and stared at it for a few seconds, before noticing that it required a passcode. "Ugh…I'm gonna be here a while."

* * *

"Careful, Ames. We still don't know what these things do." Sonic warned as Amy examined several devices similar to the one Robotnik dropped on the hill earlier.

"Calm down, Sonic. These things don't even look like they work. What's the worst that could happen? Besides, you're here. If something goes terribly wrong, you can just snap me out of it like you did last time." She walked around one of the boxes and noticed a name on the back of it. It was nearly scratched out and covered in dust, but it was most certainly there. "Sonic…this one has a name written on it. Come over here." She gestured at Sonic, who walked over to her and tried to get a look at the name she was talking about. "Let me see if I can make out exactly what it says." She wiped as much of the dust off as she could, before pushing Sonic out of the way to try and get as much light as possible to shine on the name. "Let's see…K…N…U…C…" She gasped. "Sonic, this says Knuckles on it." She looked to the right and saw that the one next to her also had a name written on it, this one easily legible. "And…and this one says Shadow on it!" Sonic walked over to one of the devices that was on the far side of the room, and he checked all over the box to see if he could find another name written on it somewhere. After a short search, he gasped. "What's wrong, Sonic? What's that one say?" Amy asked, walking over to Sonic and trying to get a look at whatever it was he was gasping at.

"Ames…this one has your name on it." Sonic stepped out of the way to let Amy confirm this statement for herself. Then, she gasped and took a step back.

"Sonic…what does it mean? Why do they have names written on them?" Amy asked, turning to Sonic.

Sonic shrugged. "I don't know, Ames. But whatever it is, it can't be good. Robotnik is gonna try to do something to you, Ames. I won't let him, though. I won't let him get to any of our friends." Amy looked him in the eyes and smiled.

"Sonic…you're gonna protect me, aren't you? You're gonna protect all of us?" Sonic nodded, instinctively inching closer to Amy as he did.

"He won't get to do anything to anybody as long as I'm around. You can believe that, Ames." He smirked before looking around the room. "We should hurry the hell up. The more we stand around wondering what Robotnik is planning, the closer Robotnik gets to finding us again."

* * *

"This is ridiculous. I'm gonna be here forever at this rate. I need to see if I can find the password somewhere." Cream stepped away from the control panel and turned around, walking back into the room she initially entered in. "Or, I could just see if I can find Mister Sonic or Miss Amy on my own. I'm sure they'll be able to find a way to get the door open. After all, there's no reason to get Tails in here if I can find them without him." She wandered over to a door that seemed to lead further into the facility, before pushing it open and going through.

* * *

 **Author's Note: A bit of a shorter chapter here. This is mostly just an interlude between the last chapter and the next one, and not much else. There are a few important plot points that happen in this chapter, but for the most part it's just clearing out the uneventful stuff that happens before the events of the next chapter. So, that said, I'll see you next week with another update!**


	10. That's Not Knuckles

Chapter 10

Tails sighed and looked back up at the hole Cream had flown into. "What the hell is going on in there? It shouldn't be taking her so long." He flew up to the hole and looked inside, trying to get a glance of Cream. "Cream? What's going on in there?" He waited a few seconds for a response, and then tried to get a better view at the inside. "Come on, Cream, hurry up. You're scaring me. ...Cream? Are you there?" No response. "Awwww, fuck. I knew I shouldn't have sent her in alone! I gotta find a way in there." He flew back down to The Tornado and started to search for something to make the hole big enough for him to enter.

* * *

"Miss Amy? Mister Sonic? Are you there?" Cream squeaked, her voice low and almost inaudible. She had been wandering in this labyrinth of halls and doors for almost 20 minutes, and had not come any closer to finding Sonic or Amy. She shouldn't have gone in alone. She should have just found another way to get Tails inside. She wasn't anywhere near strong enough to defend herself against Robotnik's armies. If she were with Tails...Tails would keep her safe. He always did. She always felt so safe and secure when he was with her, when he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, when he whispered 'I love you' into her ear as he kissed her...

No. She couldn't be afraid right now, not while Sonic and Amy were in danger. She would have to get her nerves and carry on without having Tails at her side. She was a big girl now. She didn't need somebody protecting her at all times anymore. She smiled, her head held high, and then called out with a new, more confident voice. "Miss Amy?! Mister Soooooonic! Is anyone there?" She looked around and saw a window up high on the wall. She grinned, and then flapped her ears again and flew up to the window, then landed on the ledge in front of the window and looked down at the room she was overlooking. There, walking side-by-side, was a blue and pink hedgehog, not noticing Cream at all, more focused on the path ahead of them instead of anything else. "There you are." Cream smirked, then began to pound her fists on the glass.

"Ames-stop. Do you hear that?" Sonic put his hand out to his side to stop Amy from walking, and then looked around to see if he was imagining the noise he was hearing. "Get your hammer ready, Ames. Someone might be following us." Amy grabbed her hammer and readied it in her hands as Sonic looked around for the source of the pounding.

"Who do you think it is, Sonic?" Amy asked, stepping next to Sonic and spinning around to have a view of the opposite end of the room. "I didn't think we got followed here. Do you think that Robotnik found us again?"

Sonic nodded. "It is his base, after all, Ames. He probably has cameras all over the place. And once he knows where we are, it's just a matter of getting to us before we move on." Sonic looked up and saw the window Cream was standing at, and he saw her banging on the glass. When she saw that she had been noticed, she stopped pounding on the glass and waved at him. "Hey...that's Cream! I think Tails and cream came to get us out of here, Ames!" Sonic turned to Amy. "Now we'very just gotta meet up with them." He looked back up at Cream, and he was about to confirm that he saw her, when he saw a familiar red echidna slowly creeping up behind her. "Cream, look ou-!" Sonic pointed at the figure sneaking up behind Cream, but it was already too late.

* * *

"Alright, Mister Sonic knows I'm here! Now all I gotta do is find a way to get to them!" The rabbit slowly backed away from the window, before noticing Sonic pointing up at her. "Huh? What is he...?" Suddenly, she felt a damp cloth prested over her mouth, and her arms were forcibly pulied behind her back. She weakly struggled to free herself, before she began to slip away into darkness...

* * *

Cream slowly opened her eyes. Or, she thought she did, because everything was still dark. Last thing she remembered, she felt a damp cloth pressed over her mouth, and she had been under attack by an unknown assailant. She tried to open her mouth to call for help, only to realize that there was some sort of sticky substance covering it. Duct tape, perhaps?

That's it. She had been kidnapped. Robotnik must have snuck up behind her and attacked her when she was worried about meeting up with Sonic. She had to get out of here, before Robotnik could do whatever he planned to do to her. She tried to get her arms up to remove her blindfold, only to find that they were bound as well. Her legs, unsurprisingly, were in much of the same situation, tied to each leg of the chair she was sitting on. Of course this only happens after she went in alone. She should have just found another way to get Tails inside. Instead, she tried to finish the mission herself, and now she was bound to a chair, blindfolded, and gagged. She was a failure. She couldn't do anything without Tails at her side.

"So, you're up, then?" A familiar voice rang out from somewhere to her left. "I was beginning to worry about you. After all, you being dead isn't good for anybody."

"Knmmcklms?!" Cream shouted, audibly incredulous. That voice was unmistakable-it was the voice of Knuckles, Guardian of the Master Emerald. But why was he here? From the way he was speaking to her, it was obvious that he wasn't her to rescue her. So...why? "Wmmmt mmmrm ymmm dmmng hmrm?"

Knuckles smiled, and then laughed a little. "Aww, so you do recognize me? I was worried you wouldn't. After all, it never feels good to be forgotten by a cute little girl like you." He stroked her face, causing the helpless rabbit to quietly whimper. "Tails is a lucky guy, y'know. He gets to have you all to himself, all the time." His voice suddenly changed into a low, gravelly growl. Whoever this...thing was, it definitely was NOT Knuckles. Knuckles never showed any interest in Cream before, and he was never this touchy with her. Something was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. "I'm supposed to take you to Robotnik, but how could I ever pass up an opportunity like this? I'm sure he won't mind if I have a little bit of fun with you first." He growled, running his hand up Cream's leg, ignoring her attempts to get away. "After all, there's nothing you can do to stop me."

* * *

Sonic wrapped his arm around Amy, trying to stop her hyperventilating. "Ames! You need to calm down! She's gonna be fine! We need to-" Amy suddenly left his grasp and threw her hammer to the ground, before turning to him with a stern look in her eyes.

"She's gonna be FINE, Sonic?! Knuckles just kidnapped her and dragged her off to who knows where! If Knuckles is working for Robotnik like we think he is, then Cream is most certainly NOT going to be fine!" She snapped, before Sonic put both hands on her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"Ames...calm down. All we need to do is find where she's being held and go rescue her. And we'll do it before Robotnik does anything nasty to her. Okay? There's no way I'm gonna let anything bad happen to her. Understand?" He cooed, his emerald green eyes looking deep into Amy's.

Amy whimpered, then wrapped her arms around him and began to quietly sob. "Sonic... I know that. But I'm just so scared for Cream...she's so young, and Robotnik is gonna do horrible things to her. I know it..."

Sonic stroked the back of her head as he returned her hug. "He's gonna try, Ames. But he won't succeed."

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, here's chapter 10, and with it, a brand new shiny 'M' rating because, well, just look at what Knuckles is doing to Cream right now. Where do you think this is going? Anyway, guys, I really did not want to push this story above a 'T' rating but I genuinely think that this is better for the story, not just now, but also in the future. If you've enjoyed the story up to this point, I urge you, please, please, please do not stop reading the story just because it's rated M. I did this for a reason, and it's only going to help the story in the long run. Please understand, and thank you for reading.**


	11. Close Call

Chapter 11

Tails smiled and turned off his laser drill as the final piece of the enlarged hole fell away. "There we go! I should be able to fit now. Shit, I hope nothing bad has happened to Cream..." He said, putting the tool back into his bag. "Please, Cream...please, for the love of God, be safe..." He lamented, before flying into the base.

* * *

Cream gasped for breath, tears rolling down from behind her blindfold. Her gag had been removed by Knuckles, presumably so he could enjoy her begs and pleas for him to stop as he did whatever he was doing with her. "P-please, Knuckles...No more. I-I've had enough...Please...Just let me go..." She sputtered, in between gasps for breath and stifled sobs. Knuckles laughed.

"You seriously think I'm going to let you go, you little slut? No way. In fact, I'm half considering keeping you for myself and just leaving Robotnik with nothing." He began to stroke Cream's leg again, smiling as he did so. Cream whimpered, then furiously shook her head.

"N-no...please, let me go. I...I just wanna go home to...to Tails..." She broke into a full-on sob, not even attempting to evade Knuckles' advances on her.

"Aww, so now you wanna go home to your little boyfriend. Isn't that sweet? Seriously, though, that's not happening. And even if it did, he wouldn't want you back anyway. You've lost your innocence to somebody that isn't him. Your value has gone through the floor at this point." Knuckles took a step back and crossed his arms.

"No...that's not true...that's not...true...he loves me for who I am..." Cream whimpered, uncertain, almost like she was trying to convince herself and not Knuckles.

"Don't you think he would have rescued you by now of that were the case? You're useless. He sent you in to accomplish a mission and you couldn't even do it. Why would he waste his time with someone like you? He only wanted you for your body, and now that's worth less to him than before. You're welcome." He began to pace around the rabbit bound in the middle of the floor.

"W-why me, Knuckles? Why are you doing this to me…? I-I thought we were friends…" She cried, weakly struggling against her bonds. "You didn't have to do this…"

Knuckles kissed the back of Cream's head. "To be honest, it wasn't going to be you at first. I was hoping for it to be Amy instead. Buuuuuut since I ended up capturing you instead, I didn't really have a choice in the matter."

"Y-you...We trusted you..." Cream whined as Knuckles stepped away from her. "And you betray us like this...you betray ME like this..." Knuckles sighed and grabbed the roll of duct tape off of the nearby table.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Look, bitch, I really don't care how you feel about me. All I know is that you talk too much." He ripped several pieces of tape off the roll.

"N-no, waimmmmm!" Knuckles ignored the girl's pleas and resealed Cream's mouth.

"I'll be back later." He said. "Don't go escaping while I'm gone, okay, bitch? We can continue our fun when I'm back." Then, all Cream heard was the sound of receding footprints and the slamming of the door.

Cream whimpered, lost in the silence and fear of being alone, not just now, but forever. Was Knuckles right? Was she worthless to Tails now that she had lost her innocence like that? It was all her fault, after all. If she hadn't gone in alone to try to rescue Sonic and Amy, she wouldn't be in this situation right now. Instead, here she was, locked in a dark room with no way out, completely at the mercy of some freak that wanted to do this to her again and again. He hadn't called her by her name once. It was as if he saw her as nothing more than an object, as if he didn't need to treat her as a living being. Maybe that's all she was good for. She had screwed up everything else she had tried to do up to this point. She was going to die here. Nobody would bother trying to save her, and she would be at the mercy of this nutjob until she died. She only hoped that would happen sooner, rather than later.

* * *

Sonic stopped dead in his tracks. "Ames...I hear something again. Do you think it's Knuckles?" He asked, cautiously looking around for any possible attacks. "Ames? Ames, where'd you go?" He turned around and immediately froze when he saw Knuckles standing there with a gun to Amy's head. "Oh, shit...Hey there, Knuckles." Sonic took a step backwards.

"Hello, Sonic. Thanks for attracting the rabbit here and letting me capture her. I've really gotten to know her on a more...personal level." Knuckles smirked and began to run his free hand up into Amy's dress. "And I'm really looking forward to doing the same thing to Amy here. Wouldn't you agree, 'Ames?' " Amy groaned.

"Nnghh...Get your hands off of me, you freak!" She tried to pull away from Knuckles, only for him to pull her back towards him again and press the gun against her head.

"I wouldn't do that, Sonic. I'm the one with the gun here. You don't want something horrible to happen, do you?" Amy gasped when Knuckles said this, and tried to escape him once again.

"Knuckles, if you hurt her…" Sonic growled, his fists clenched.

"Why does it matter to you? She's not important to you in the slightest. No more than any of your other friends, anyway. Hell, I'm doing you a favor here. I'll just drag her off and treat her the same way I treat the other bitch I captured. Nobody will ever see either of them again. Isn't that just good for everybody involved? Well, except them, of course." Knuckles laughed.

"No! You don't have to do this, Knuckles! Whatever Robotnik said to you, he is LYING, Knuckles!" Sonic took a step forward and outstretched his hand. "Don't do it, Knuckles! She doesn't deserve this!"

Knuckles sighed. "Well, since you feel that way, I guess I have no choice. Do you have anything else you wanna say to your boyfriend here before I end you? Maybe you wanna ask him to marry you again?"

Amy whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "Knuckles…Please…" She shut her eyes as tightly as she could, not wanting her last memory to be of her hero helpless to do anything to save her, just waiting for the inevitable-

CLICK.

"What the fuck? Why isn't it working?!" Knuckles exclaimed, pulling the trigger several more times. Each one produced the same ineffective click, and with each one he got more and more desperate. "It was working just fine earlier! How the hell did this happen?!" He snarled, throwing the gun down to the ground.

"If you're gonna use a gun, maybe make sure that nothing can jam it before you go threatening people with it." Knuckles whipped around and saw Tails standing there with some kind of remote in his hand. "Now let Amy go before Sonic and I have to beat the shit out of you!" As Tails said this, Sonic had already grabbed Amy's hammer off of the floor and was preparing to strike.

"Oh, so now you're challenging me to a fight, huh? Heh. I knew you would do that. You've made a huge mistake." Knuckles shook his head. "Chaos…Con-!" Before he could finish his sentence, Sonic swung the hammer down on the back of his head, causing him to drop Amy and crash to the floor, unconscious. Amy jumped up and threw her arms around Sonic, tears still streaming down her face.

"Oh my god, Sonic…I thought I was gonna die…if Tails weren't here, you would have…you would have been helpless to do anything…" She sobbed, burying her head in Sonic's chest.

Sonic returned her embrace and slowly stroked the back of her head. "Ames, you weren't gonna die. I said I wasn't gonna let anything happen to anybody, didn't I? I would've found a way to save you. I always do."

Tails stepped forward. "Uh, sorry to interrupt, but…do either of you know where Cream went? I sent her in here to find you guys, and she still hasn't come back. I'm a little bit worried about her." Amy released Sonic from her grasp, regained her composure, and then turned to Tails, her face damp with tears.

"Uh, yeah…she-she got captured by Knuckles. We were going to go find her when all this happened. And from the way that he was talking, I think that…well, she might not be the same as she was when she came here…" Amy responded, wiping her eyes one final time.

Tails' eyes widened. "Oh, fuck…Do you guys know where he took her? I gotta get to her and make sure she's okay." Sonic and Amy both pointed backwards, towards the end of the hallway.

"We think that he took her somewhere in that direction. I would come with you to help you out, but…I think Ames has had enough of this fuckin' place for one day. You go ahead and save Cream, I gotta make sure Ames gets out of here alright. How do we get outta here?"

Tails turned around and gestured towards the branch in the path at the other end of the hall. "Take the right path there. I opened a big door in one of the rooms there that leads out. Just look for a big hole in the wall and you'll see it." He began to walk past the two. "I'll meet you two outside, alright?" And before they knew it, he was heading towards the suspected location of Cream.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Here's the update for today. What is going on with Knuckles, anyway? The only person that knows the truth is me...and maybe you if you've been paying attention. Anyway, we're almost done with this base segment! I promise you, by the end of next chapter these guys will all have escaped and moved on to the next sufficient threatening obstacle I throw at them! Next chapter also contains the start of what is possibly one of my favorite pairings of all time, and ALSO the one mentioned in the summary, so don't be surprised if you get double updates this week. It's not a guarantee, but it's pretty damn likely!**


	12. AKA The Love Chapter

Chapter 12

Cream's eyes had run dry of tears. She didn't DESERVE to be crying this much. She was a disappointment to everyone. Ever since her mother had died, she hadn't had anybody to really open up to at all. Even the one she thought loved her-Tails- was just using her to fulfill his own sexual desires. And now that Knuckles had beaten him to the punch, he would never take her back again. If she could, she would punch Tails until her hands were bleeding. How could he just use her like that? She trusted him. She was getting so riled up just thinking about it. When she saw Tails again…IF she saw Tails again…she would make him wish that he never met her.

The only issue was that she was never going to see him again. She was never going to see any of them again. Not even her pet Chao Cheese, who was always there when she needed a friend. Tails and Sonic and Amy...even AMY of all people...none of them cared enough about her to come back and rescue her. She-

Footsteps. That could only mean one thing. Knuckles had come back, and with it another hour of pure torture. She only hoped that she would get shot right in the head before he could do too much.

"Cream? Are you there?" She heard that god-forsaken voice call out from somewhere in the distance. He had come back for her after all. Of course, he would definitely just leave again when he learned what had been done to her. He made a huge mistake coming back for her. She would make him regret their entire relationship, every single kiss, every single time he let her cry into his shoulder…none of it meant anything. It was all just to lure her into a false sense of security for the inevitable moment of 'Get in bed with me, bitch.' He didn't mean anything to her anymore. Nobody meant anything to her anymore. Any minute now, she expected to hear that door open, followed by a groan of disgust, and then the immediate slamming of the door.

"Oh my god, Cream, what the fuck happened to you?! Are you alright?!" Tails ripped the tape off of Cream's mouth and removed her blindfold, only for her to immediately spit at him and begin to struggle away from Tails as hard as she could.

"Get the fuck away from me! Don't you touch me! Get your hands off of me, you fuck!" She growled, catching Tails off-guard and causing him to take a few steps backwards. "You fucking lied to me! You don't love me at all. Knuckles said so!"

Tails stood there, his mouth hanging open. "Cream? What are you talking about? Knuckles isn't who he used to be. He's working with Robotnik now. You can't listen to whatever he told you."

"No! You're lying. I know you are! You only came back because you wanted me to know how much you hate me! Don't think I don't see right through you, Tails! You only wanted me for my body, and now that…now that…" She began to tear up, though she looked down at the ground instead of at Tails. She couldn't let him see her like this. He already thought she was weak enough, let alone if he saw her start crying. "Knuckles fucked me, Tails! There! Are you disgusted yet? I know that you're disappointed that you weren't the first to get inside of me, so just go! Get out of here! Leave me alone and never talk to me again!" She broke into a full sob, leaving a bewildered Tails standing in front of her. He pondered the situation for a few minutes. Nothing about Cream right now was normal. Cream never cussed. She would never say any of this to him. Why was she acting this way around someone who just 3 hours earlier she had shared multiple tender moments with? Tails knelt down and tried to get a look at Cream's face. He expected to see all the signs of anger and hatred, but instead he saw…pain. Pain and fear and betrayal and sadness all at once. He knew exactly what was going on here. And he also knew exactly how to make her realize the truth. He put a hand under her chin and tilted her head up, closed his eyes, and leaned in, his lips meeting hers in the first real kiss they had shared in a while. It was long and passionate; in fact, it was Cream herself who was continuing it, refusing to allow Tails to pull away for at least 30 seconds. When Tails finally managed to pull away, Cream looked back up at him, a small smile on her face.

"T-Tails…you're not disgusted with me?" Tails ran his hand along Cream's face and shook his head.

"Cream…don't say that. There was nothing you could have done about it. I shouldn't have sent you in alone. I am so, so sorry for what happened to you. But Cream…I promise, you don't disgust me just because somebody decided to shove their penis inside of you. I still love you, Cream. I always will."

Cream looked down and gave a small cry of relief. "I know, Tails…I was just…I was trying to break myself away from you without hurting you too much. I don't deserve you, Tails. I can't do anything right. I-" Tails put a finger on her lips before she could finish the sentence.

"Don't say that, Cream. You're the only one that deserves me. I know that recovering from your ordeal with Knuckles is gonna be tough, but…I'll be with you all the way. I promise." They looked at each other and smiled. "Now come on. Let's get out of here."

* * *

"Ames? Can I…Can I say something?" Sonic grabbed Amy and pulled her over to the shade of a nearby tree. They had been waiting outside for Tails and Cream for at least 15 minutes, and he couldn't wait anymore. If he was gonna tell her how he felt, he might as well do it when it's just the two of them alone. He didn't know WHY he was feeling all these emotions…he just was.

"Alright, Sonic. What is it?" Amy leaned against the tree and gave Sonic a small smile.

Sonic took a deep breath. "Alright…here goes. Ames…I know that I've never felt this way about you before. I've always been horrible to you before, and I know that you've loved me since we met, but…Ames, I think I love you. All that time we spent together trying to escape Robotnik's base just now…all the scares and situations we faced…It's all made me realize that I wanna be with you forever, Ames. And I know that you've probably given up on me by this point, but…I couldn't just stand back and keep these feelings inside forever."

Amy stood there, her eyes wide. "Sonic, I…I never expected you to say this to me. To be honest, I'm actually kinda confused." She said, leaving her position against the tree and circling around Sonic.

Sonic sighed. "Okay, Ames. I know that it kinda came out of the blue, but…!" He was cut off by Amy's lips meeting his. He had no idea what was going on, but to him it meant that she felt the same way. Why was he surprised? She had ALWAYS felt that way about him, through thick and thin. Why should now be any different? Her lips were soft and warm…much like her hands, in fact. And every time she thought it was over, he would refuse to let her leave. He wasn't gonna let this moment end that quickly. The moment that he first kissed Amy Rose…he never wanted it to end. She was so perfect. She was loyal and smart and beautiful and she was always there for him and he loved everything about her. He knew now what it was like to love someone-no, to so MADLY love someone that you would do anything for them. Amy Rose was perfect to him, and he was perfect her.

When the moment finally ended, much to Sonic's dismay, Amy wrapped her arms around him and leaned in close. "Sonic…you didn't actually think I was gonna say no, did you?" She asked, her beautiful green eyes looking directly at his. "You should know better than that."

* * *

 **Author's note: Well, I did say to expect 2 updates this week, didn't I? So here's the other one. This one was my favorite chapter to write so far. Which is strange, because as a teenage male you would think that I would be all 'ACTION AND EXPLOSIONS AND FIREFIGHTS' like most guys my age, and yet this chapter contains none of that. Also, both segments of this chapter end with a kiss? I actually didn't plan for this to happen. The whole portion with Cream was going to be way different but then I got a different idea. I think the final version of this chapter, which I spent the last 3 hours straight writing by the way, is much cuter and more impactful than the original. But I digress. Cya guys next update!**


	13. Finally Out

"Come on, Cream. The door is just over there." Tails said, holding Cream as tightly as he could. She was still a little bit disoriented from whatever Knuckles used on her, and so needed support from Tails to continue standing. She was just glad the whole thing was over; no more worrying about Sonic and Amy, no more searching dangerous bases alone, no more getting violated by Knuckles in some dark room somewhere as she was helpless to do anything to resist. As they stepped out into the open air, all she could think about was Tails. He would always be there for her; he said it himself. How could she ever think he would leave her? He was perfect. He was still the same person he was when they first started dating. He-

"Ow!" Cream yelped, her hand flying up to her forehead. "What…how did that happen?" She pulled away from Tails and began to rub her head. "Did I…?" She looked up at Tails.

Tails nodded. "You walked right into that tree there. I tried to pull you out of the way, but you wouldn't move at all. Are you alright, Cream?" Cream looked up at him and smiled.

"Uh, y-yeah. I'm fine." She grabbed his hand and he pulled her to her feet. "I was just…thinking about things." She said. Tails turned his head to the side.

"Cream, are you still thinking about what happened with Knuckles? Seriously, don't worry about it. It's not your fault." Cream turned to him.

"No, Tails. I was thinking about you. I…" She blushed. "I love you so much, Tails. Coming back for me like that, it was…it was really brave." She nuzzled up against him.

"Cream…I wasn't going to leave you in there. That's all there is to it. Now stop worrying about it. Please." Cream looked into his eyes and frowned slightly.

"Tails…you don't need to do that for me. Seriously." She grabbed his arm. "I want you to promise me something, Tails. If I'm ever in a situation where you're putting yourself in danger to rescue me…just leave me. Even what you just did today was dangerous, Tails. You had no idea if Robotnik had any traps waiting for you there! You could've been killed, Tails!"

"Cream, I-" He stammered, before Cream put a finger on his lips and shushed him.

"Tails. Just promise me that, okay? Don't throw your life away just to save me. Besides, I'll do my best not to get into situations like that anyway, alright?" A small smile appeared on her face Tails looked at her, a small smile appearing on his face as well. Then, he nodded.

"Okay, Cream. I promise." He grabbed her and pulled her next to him, and then they shared another kiss.

* * *

"Sonic," Amy asked, Sonic holding her tightly as they lay down on a tree branch, her head resting against his chest. "What…what are you gonna do to Robotnik when we find him? You aren't gonna kill him, are you?" She looked up at Sonic, an inquisitive look on her face.

"I dunno, Ames. I don't wanna have to kill him, but…if he continues doing what he's doing, I might have no choice." He looked back down at Amy. "But believe me, Ames. I won't kill him if I don't have to."

Amy shook her head. "No, that's not what I'm worried about, Sonic. I'm worried that if you don't kill him…he's gonna kill you instead." She sat up and turned to face him, then scooted over to him and put her forehead against his. "Sonic, don't give him the chance. As soon as you can, I want you to kill him. I know it goes against everything you stand for, but…" She closed her eyes and grabbed Sonic's hands. "I don't want to lose you to that madman, Sonic." They kissed each other.

"Ames," Sonic said, pulling away. "You aren't going to. I promise. I'll find a way to stop him." He spoke, his voice taking on an almost dream-like tone. "What're you so worried about, anyway? I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm your hero, right? How could you ever think that Robotnik could kill me?"

Amy sighed. "Sonic, it's different now. Back then, that's _all_ you were to me. A hero and a friend. But now…Sonic, you're more to me now." She smiled. "I'm not the little girl you rescued from Robotnik and Metal Sonic all those years ago. I don't adore you as a hero anymore. I love you, Sonic. Please, just promise me that you'll kill Robotnik when you can. Even if you don't want to, do it for me, Sonic."

"Alright, Ames." Sonic pulled her even closer to him. "I'll do it for you. I wouldn't wanna ruin what we've got here, after all. We're just getting started!" He pulled her lips into his and they again kissed each other. But then, Amy pulled herself away from Sonic.

"Sonic…one last thing. Don't let Tails and Cream know about this. Any of this. Not yet, at least. I know we should trust them, but…we don't know what Knuckles did to Cream before Tails got to her. Let's just act like none of this happened until we know for a fact that Cream is still normal. If Cream got mindwiped or whatever the hell by Knuckles and reports to Robotnik that we're in love now, he would use that to his advantage. We'll just act completely normal around them for a while, just until we know we're safe. Alright?"

Sonic hesitantly nodded. "Okay, Ames. I guess I can go along with that. How long are we gonna have to keep it quiet?"

Amy shrugged. "I don't know, Sonic. Just until Cream proves she's the same Cream we know from before. I promise, as soon as she does, we can stop."

Sonic nodded again. "Alright. But, uh, I see them just over there. How are we gonna explain why we're up in this tree holding each other like this?"

Amy blushed. "Oh, uh, that. Well, it's getting dark out, so, uh…quick, close your eyes." Sonic did as he was told, and then Amy placed her hands and head on his chest and closed her eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I apologize for not updating in about a month. You can thank Fates for that. But now that I've finished Birthright on both Hard and Lunatic mode and don't have access to Revelations or Conquest at the moment, I can finally pull myself away from my 3DS and back to writing. I hope to write a little bit of a backlog of chapters, so that when I finally get Revelations you guys still have something to read every week. Anyway, see you guys next week.**


	14. Injured

"God, how fucking long were we in there for? It's starting to get dark." Tails wrapped his arms around Cream and pulled her close. "It's cold as hell, too. I wonder how Sonic and Amy are

dealing with this." He looked around as the sun began to disappear behind the horizon. "Where even are they, anyway? I don't see them anywhere." Cream looked up and saw the two hedgehogs 'asleep' in a nearby tree branch.

"Aww, looks like we were in there so long that they fell asleep right on top of each other. They're so cute!" She exclaimed, her voice rising in pitch to almost a squeal as she finished her sentence. Then, she gasped and quickly covered her mouth when she saw Amy begin to stir. "Whoops...I think I woke them up…" She whispered to herself as both Sonic and Amy sat up slowly and pretended to yawn.

"Nngh...huh? What the…?" Sonic stood up on the branch and stretched. "How long were we asleep? Please tell me that she wasn't laying on me like that the whole time." The two of them looked at each other, then jumped down to the ground.

"We don't know, Mister Sonic. We just got here, and when we looked up there we saw you and Miss Amy sleeping on top of each other like that. You two are soooooo cute together!" Cream squealed again, before catching herself and looking at Amy.

"Yeah, I know. Don't bring it up. He's not gonna listen, no matter how many times he's told." Amy frowned slightly.

Cream sighed. "Aww, come on, Mister Sonic! You two are perfect for each other!" She left Tails' side and grabbed Amy. Then, she turned and pulled Amy over to Sonic, ignoring her 'protests' not to bother. When the two were right in front of each other, she let go of Amy and stepped off to the side. "C'mon! Just kiss each other already. Everyone wants it to happen. Stop denying how you really feel, Sonic. You know you love each other!" She lightly nudged the two towards each other.

"Uh, Cream, it's not going to happen. As much as she wants it to, I'm just not interested in a relationship at all." Sonic crossed his arms. "No offense, Ames." Amy scoffed and turned away from Sonic.

Cream groaned. "But _whyyyyyyyyyyyyy?_ You two are _sooooooo_ great for each other!" Her eyes lit up again, and Tails sighed and leaned against a nearby tree.

"Drop it, Cream. It's clear that he just doesn't want to. Just leave it at that." Tails said, causing Cream to turn to him. "It's not our business, anyway. We should be more worried about finding someplace to sleep for tonight that ISN'T in a tree branch. We'll head back home tomorrow." With that, the 4 of them headed out to find somewhere to sleep.

* * *

"Alright, this looks like as good a place as any." Tails said as the group took shelter under a rock outcropping nearby the area that The Tornado was parked. "We should build a fire so that we don't freeze ourselves to death in the middle of the night." Tails looked around. "Cream and I will go out and gather firewood. You two can stay here and rest. I think you've dealt with enough shit today." Tails said, before taking Cream's hand and exiting the cave. Cream looked behind her at the two hedgehogs, before turning back around and going along with Tails. The two hedgehogs waited a few minutes after Tails and Cream left. Then, when they were sure they were alone, they took each other's hands and nuzzled up against each other.

"I think we're pretty good actors, Ames." Sonic said, giving Amy another kiss. "I don't think Cream or Tails suspected anything."

Amy sighed. "Yeah, I know. I feel so bad about this, though. She's so excited to see us together...I wish we could tell her right now. She would be so happy for us… I hope she proves herself to be normal quickly, because I wanna tell her as soon as possible, just to see her eyes light up like that again…"

Sonic stroked the back of Amy's head. "I know, Ames. But-" He heard the sound of footsteps coming from the direction of Robotnik's fortress. "What…? They can't be back already." The two immediately let go of each other and stood up. "Get behind me, Ames. We don't know who that is." Amy grabbed her hammer and then hid behind Sonic.

"If I wanted to kill you, do you really think that hiding your girlfriend behind yourself would keep her safe?" Shadow crossed his arms and began to approach the two. "Unless the plan was to get both of you killed at once."

Sonic put an arm out to his side and began to back up. "What do you want, Shadow?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Hmph. Fucking idiot. I want to help you take down Robotnik, obviously. What other reason would I have to be here?" Shadow scoffed and leaned on a nearby wall. "I'm surprised you managed to get out of Robotnik's fortress without me, honestly."

Amy stepped out from behind Sonic and readied her hammer. "What are you saying, Shadow? Do you think Sonic would ever let Robotnik get the best of us like that?" She growled through clenched teeth, winding her hammer up for a swing. Shadow chuckled as Amy began to swing her hammer. Then, he ran over to her, grabbed her hammer mid-swing, and wrestled it away from her. He then aimed it at her legs and swung it, causing her to yelp in pain and fall to the floor. Sonic ran over to her and knelt next to her.

"Sonic...I...I think he broke it…" Amy whimpered, tears forming in her eyes as she struggled to sit up. "I don't know if I can stand…It hurts, Sonic…"

Sonic stood up and turned to Shadow. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Shadow?! What did you break her leg for?!" He clenched his fists and began to approach Shadow. Shadow scoffed and crossed his arms again.

"That was her own fault. How can she expect to take on Robotnik when she's that predictable? If she didn't want her leg to be broken, she shouldn't have left an opening like that." He turned around. "If she can't even get a single hit on me, she doesn't stand a chance against Robotnik. I guess that's why she has you to protect her, right? God knows she can't defend herself." He sighed and began to pace around the other two hedgehogs. "I'm just trying to show you that you're not ready for Robotnik yet. At all. And at the rate you're going at, you'll never be. You need to pick up the pace if you want to take him on on even ground."

"Wha-?! You broke her fucking leg, Shadow! She didn't deserve that! That is a death sentence, with Robotnik back now!" Sonic began to wind up a punch, before Shadow grabbed his fist and looked him in the eye.

"You try that again, I'll break your fucking arm, too." Shadow snarled, making Sonic pull his fist away and walk back over to Amy.

"Are you alright, Ames?" Sonic sat down next to Amy and took her hand.

"I don't know, Sonic...I'm not gonna be able to walk until my leg is healed…" She sputtered through stifled sobs. "I'm scared, Sonic...what if Robotnik or Knuckles attack?" Sonic smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, Ames. If those assholes ever come for us, I'll carry you if I have to. No way would I leave you behind." He lightly nudged her shoulder, and a small smile appeared on her face. Then Sonic turned and saw Tails and Cream approaching with firewood in their arms.

"Shadow?" Tails asked, dropping his firewood on the floor. "Where have you been?"

"I've been…" He paused, his face contorting into one similar to the expression Cream had when Tails rescued her from Knuckles. But then, he returned back to normal and continued to speak. "I've been busy trying to figure out what the hell Robotnik's plan is. All I've found is that he's hiding out on some island in the north somewhere." Shadow explained, looking at Amy with a scowl on his face.

Tails followed Shadow's gaze and saw Amy laying on the floor with tears in her eyes. "What happened to you, Amy? You look like you're in pain...Did something happen while we were gone?" Amy bit her lip and looked up at him.

"Um…" She saw the scowl on Shadow's face. "Uh...after you guys left, we...we, um...Sonic and I went out to The Tornado just to make sure it was still there...on the way there, um...I tripped and fell down a hill and broke my leg. Sonic had to carry me back here." Amy stuttered, her voice becoming more and more of a whisper as she spoke.

Tails looked at her with a blank look on his face. "Uh...alright, then. Well, in that case, we'll head out first thing in the morning tomorrow. We don't want to be out here longer than we need to when someone has a broken leg, after all." Tails said, as he put all the firewood into a pile and tried starting the fire. "You get first watch, Shadow."


	15. Airlift

The fire crackled as Sonic's group slept around it. Shadow sat in a far corner, as far away from the group as possible. He didn't want to wake them, after all. They had been through a long day. And now that he had broken Amy's leg, they were almost certain to want to airlift her back home using the Tornado. All was going according to plan.

Shadow looked around to make sure everyone else was asleep. Then, when he was positive that they were, he stood up and walked out from underneath the outcropping and began to pace around a nearby tree.

"Yes, Robotnik, sir. They don't suspect a thing. I've already broken one of Amy's legs…it's all on you now." He spoke into a device on his wrist. Then, he listened to Robotnik's response, and when he was finished he pressed a button on the device and began to walk back towards the group. Once there, he sat back down as quietly as he could, taking another look at the four people sleeping around the fire. "Soon."

* * *

"Mmmm...good morning, Sonic…" Amy chirped as she slowly sat up and stretched. Her mood was instantly soured, however, when she looked over and saw Shadow sitting there, arms crossed, scowl on his face. "Oh. You're still here." She said, her smile turning into a frown.

"Hmph. You didn't honestly expect me to leave, did you? As much as I hate to say it, this group needs me right now. I'm the only thing that's going to stop Robotnik from killing all of you." Shadow said, standing up and uncrossing his arms. "So, we gonna move out or not?" Shadow began to walk over to the Tornado, expecting everybody else to follow.

"Uh…yeah, sure, I guess." Sonic said, picking Amy up in a bridal carry and beginning to follow Shadow.

"Ames, there isn't enough room in there for both of us, so I'm gonna send you home with Tails first, okay? When you get there, he's gonna take you home and come right back. Ames, I want you to stay home until this whole ordeal is over, okay? You're in no position to be fighting."

"But, Sonic, I-" Amy was hushed by Sonic before she could finish the sentence.

"Ames. I don't want you to get hurt more than you already are. Just stay home. We can handle Robotnik without you, I promise." Sonic smiled. Amy lowered her head as she was loaded into the Tornado.

"Well, okay, Sonic. If that's what you think is best, I won't argue. Just…don't do anything stupid, okay? Can you manage that for once in your life?" Amy asked, a smile appearing on her face.

"I'll definitely try my hardest, Ames." Sonic said, crossing his arms. "I'll see you once this is all over, okay?"

"Cream, you're gonna stay here with Sonic and Shadow for now. I don't like leaving you here, but we need to get Amy home as soon as possible. If anything happens while we're gone, I want you to let those two handle it, alright? I couldn't bear to see you hurt." Tails said, kissing Cream on the cheek.

"You got it, Tails. I promise, I'll still be alive when you get back." Cream smiled, lightly nudging Tails with her arm. "Just fly safely, okay? Nobody knows what kind of tricks Robotnik has up his sleeve." Tails nodded as he boarded the Tornado and started the engines.

"I'll see you guys in a bit. Once I've dropped Amy off, I'll come back and we'll all head home together." Tails shouted as he took off with his passenger and began to fly back home.

* * *

"Alright, Shadow, I wanna know what the fuck you're up to." Sonic crossed his arms as he began to pace around Shadow. "Now that Cream is sitting back over by the fire, there's nothing stopping me from confronting you about this. First you turn up out of nowhere – right next to one of Robotnik's bases, by the way – and then you start a fight with Ames and end up breaking her leg. You're planning something, and I wanna know what it is." Shadow followed Sonic's movements with his eyes, and then began to speak.

"Me? I'm not planning anything. I think you're just paranoid. I broke her leg because she's not ready for Robotnik. This way, she can't argue that she should stay here. We get to take her home and leave her there, and she gets to stay safe. It's a win-win." Shadow said.

"That doesn't make any sense. First of all, how is it that you broke Ames' leg because she isn't ready for Robotnik, but then you left Cream completely alone? I'd argue that Cream is less prepared to fight Robotnik than Ames is." Sonic said, stopping his pacing and leaning up against a nearby tree.

"Cream is 10 times more prepared for Robotnik than Amy is. After all, Cream went through that whole ordeal with Knuckles back there. She's obviously got quite a lot of emotional fortitude, considering she doesn't seem too affected by it."

"She's very clearly affected by it, though. Something about her just isn-wait. How did you know about what Knuckles did to her? We haven't told anybody about that…" Sonic said, backing cautiously away from Shadow. Shadow smirked and ran at Sonic, his hand curled into a fist.

* * *

"Alright, Amy. We're here. C'mon, I'll help you. Grab my shoulder." Tails helped Amy get out of her seat and then supported her weight as they walked towards her house. "You gotta just take it easy for a little while, alright? Don't try to do anything too serious. You don't want to hurt yourself even more. But you probably already got this speech from Sonic, didn't you?" Amy nodded as they approached her front yard. "Well, okay. You got the key?" Amy reached into her dress pocket and handed Tails her door key. He promptly unlocked the door and walked Amy inside, depositing her on the living room couch.

"Thanks, Tails. Be careful on your way back, okay? And make sure Sonic doesn't do anything dumb." Amy said. Tails nodded as he turned to exit the house. He quickly stopped himself and turned back around to search the house for something to help Amy walk.

"Amy…you got a crutch in here? You gotta be able to move yourself around with that broken leg of yours." Tails said.

"Oh, yeah, it's back there, in the storage room." Amy pointed at an open door in the back of the house, and Tails followed her instructions to grab the crutch for her. When he had it, he leaned it against the couch next to her.

"There. I'll give this back to you." Tails handed the house key back to Amy. "You can lock the door yourself." He then exited the house, and after a few moments, Amy heard the sound of the Tornado taking off again.

"Ugh…I really wanna show Robotnik what's what, but…I guess Sonic is right. I shouldn't overextend myself." Amy said to herself, grabbing her crutch and making her way over to the kitchen to grab a snack.

"Hello, Miss Rose." A haunting voice came from a darkened corner of the hallway. It couldn't be. There was no way he knew that she was going to be home alone. Was there? No, it just didn't make any sense.

"Um…hello?" Amy called out, her heart racing. She fumbled for the light switch, and when she finally got the lights on, her fears were confirmed. There, standing in the corner, was Robotnik.

"Nobody to save you now."

* * *

 **Author's Note: This chapter has been in the works for almost half a year now. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't quite know what to do here. I knew what I wanted the end results of all this to be, but I just couldn't think of sensible circumstances that would lead to those results. I spent about 3 hours a day thinking and writing and erasing and thinking and writing and erasing again and it was just ridiculous. But it's here now. Thank you guys for being so patient, and I promise to return to the regular update schedule now.**


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